Each year at the 11^th hour on the 11^th day of the 11^th month, we acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the more than one million Canadian men and women, many of them young, who went to war so that we could live in a peaceful democracy.

More than 100,000 of them would perish, and thousands more would return home wounded physically and emotionally.

No soldier wants to die but over the decades Canadians in military service have been prepared to make that supreme sacrifice so that we at home could enjoy safety and freedom. They succeeded so well that for many of us war is something surreal we only experience second-hand through television, photographs and the movies.

But we must never forget that war is very real. This November 11^th on Remembrance Day we thank and honour all of those in military service, past and present, by acknowledging their sacrifice and by cherishing the peace we live in.

In solidarity,

Wayne Hanley

National President